Compressor power saving

Champion Compressors has launched its ‘PowerSave Options’ suite — a selection of energy-saving systems that can be factory fitted to any compressor in the company’s range. PowerSave Options allows users to customise their air compressor with specific energy-saving features best suited to their application. Incorporating a selection of air-filtration and heat-recovery systems, as well as various air-end and drive configurations, PowerSave Options provides industry with better energy-saving choice and flexibility.

Many of Champion’s PowerSave Options systems can be retrofitted to existing compressors, while all of the company’s energy-saving systems are easily incorporated into its off-the-shelf units or its fully engineered customised compressors.

PowerSave Options includes a shielded separator pre-filter and a cyclonic air-intake filter that can be selected in isolation or as a combination to help minimise blockages.

Additional energy efficiencies may be realised by specifying modulating control, a variable output air-end or a variable speed drive as PowerSave Options alternatives.

Energy efficiencies can be further improved by the PowerSave Options heat-recovery systems — which recover waste heat for re-use by either the compressor itself — or by external processes such as process water heating. Compressors will typically produce air at 30 °C, but this is cooled in the driers and filters to around 18 °C, effectively taking energy out of the air. A regenerative air system uses waste heat generated by the compressor to re-heat the newly produced compressed air. For every 3 °C the compressed air can be heated up, there is a corresponding increase in power efficiency of 1%.